The Scholarship
The Lisa Perdichizzi Scholarship has been created through Lisa’s Family and an APF grant to support skydivers in:
- Elite sports development, or
- Career pathways, or
- Other identifiable leadership roles
One scholarship, valued at $4,000 is available to any individual APF member (any gender, any experience level) to undertake training/coaching/education/personal development as part of their plan to improve female retention and growth in our sport.
Note: This education would need to be a formally recognised training course or a clearly defined program of coaching in excess of what the candidate is currently doing. This scholarship is not intended to simply offset training costs for a current female competitor. There must be a clear and new benefit to the APF.
Criteria and process
Applications must be made via the APF online process.
Candidates must:
- Define the category of their application – Elite Sports Development or Career pathway
- Outline what training/coaching/education/personal development will be paid for through the scholarship.
- Outline how this training/coaching/education/personal development fits into a plan to retain and grow female membership.
- Commit to providing receipts and progress reports as reasonably required by the APF
Candidates must demonstrate the following personal qualities and skills:
- Desire to boost female retention and growth in skydiving
- Willingness to engage in speaking appointments if required
- Strong, positive social media presence to promote APF objectives
- Desire to mentor and support newer female members and contribute to WIAS Mentor program
Applications will be judged on likely, medium and long term benefits to the candidate and the sport of skydiving.
2026 Applications close at 5pm AEST on 24 April 2026.
The successful recipient will be announced during the APF Awards Night at the Conference on 13 May 2026.
Apply for the Scholarship
Please note: Many programs or ideas to boost female retention and growth initiatives are also eligible for support through the APF Fiona McEachern Sport Development Fund.
Previous recipients
2017 Kate Vaughan
- Career Pathway category: To partake in the International Coaching Federation (ICF) coach accreditation course to improve coaching, leadership and public speaking skills in the skydiving community, with a continued focus on female
participation growth and retention.
2018 Kristina Hicks
- Career Pathway category: To develop leadership potential and create a career pathway in skydiving by completing a Graduate Certificate in Sports Coaching at The University of Queensland. To help promote, encourage and foster talent for women and men in skydiving, develop inclusive coaching practices and to assist in identifying the issues that do prevent female retention and allow for scope on providing strategies to overcome these issues.
2019 Not granted
2020 Jodie Mayo
- Career Pathway category: To partake in an in-sky photography/videography coaching program to produce content for use in both print and digital media platforms to assist in the goal of retaining and growing female membership.
2021 Emily Brougham
- Career Pathway category: To complete a Graduate Certificate in Educational Neuroscience at CQ University so she can help people in our sport enhance their learning experiences and provide individuals with an optimal learning environment. This knowledge will also be a beneficial tool for current and future instructors to improve their own teaching skills.
2021 Ben Cove
- Research Funding recipient: An evidence based survey report on the factors affecting women in skydiving; in particular the barriers to entry, progression and ultimately understand why they choose to exit the sport. This study will provide an evidence-based process for the APF, drop zones and coaches in developing future women's specific programs.
2022 Molly Gilfillan
- Career Pathway category - to undertake three formal training courses on female coaching and retention in sport. To then use new knowledge to document a report to APF on the barriers that exist preventing women from taking up leadership positions in our sport and enable Molly herself to better support women in achieving coaching and leadership positions in skydiving.
2023 Harriette Fleming
Career Pathway: to undertake a Sports Psychology certificate, focusing on empowering women in skydiving by enhancing self-motivation. Harriet specifically will be targeting early intervention strategies post AFF.
2024 Bella Smart
Elite Sports Development: I intend to use the new found knowledge and confidence from the Coach Masterclass to continue to coach female oriented freefly/angle camps with a higher level of coaching.
2025 Natasha Sowter
Elite Sports Development: My aim is to help women progress in skydiving though a more holistic pathway - one that values technical skill, mindset training and nervous system awareness equally.
2026 Lison Mage
Career Pathway: With this scholarship, Lison will undertake Brian Cain's Mental Performance Mastery Coaching Certification and foster B.A.B.E.S. events with a format designed to travel, open to any drop zone in Australia willing to host.